Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
Humorous Poems: I. WomanSorrows of Werther
William Makepeace Thackeray (18111863)W
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.
And a moral man was Werther,
And for all the wealth of Indies
Would do nothing for to hurt her.
And his passion boiled and bubbled,
Till he blew his silly brains out,
And no more was by it troubled.
Borne before her on a shutter,
Like a well-conducted person,
Went on cutting bread and butter.